Domestic jets are returning to Hamilton airport after 25 years.
https://www.telehealth.org.nz/
The new, planned, 24/7 telehealth service giving people access to online GP appointments, is due to be launched in the next month or so. Health New Zealand has confirmed it will involve multiple providers. But details are scant apart from a document setting out that a pilot started at the end of April.
There are also plans for some sort of shared digital health record to be up and running to give telehealth doctors access to patient's medical details. At the same time, the contract for the free Healthline advice service is coming up for renewal.
To discuss what progress is being made and how much further will healthcare will move on-line Kathryn is joined by The Chair of the head of the Digital Health Association, Tony Wai and the Chair of General Practitioners Aotearoa, Dr Buzz Burrell.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles

RNZ News
7 hours ago
- RNZ News
Medsafe considers crackdown on import of unregulated peptide medications
Medsafe says people are buying unregulated peptides from websites that make health claims for which there is little or no evidence. Photo: Science Photo Li / WBU / Science Photo Library via AFP New Zealanders are buying potentially high-risk, unregulated peptide medications from overseas websites to treat sexual dysfunction, memory loss and more. Medsafe is considering a crackdown, warning many are sold based on unproven claims. It hopes to have several of them - and similar ones that may crop up - classified as prescription medicines, making it illegal to import them without a prescription. In a written submission to the Medicines Classification Committee, Medsafe said peptides were being bought from websites that made claims they could help with "cognitive enhancement, hair growth, libido enhancers, sexual dysfunction, immune enhancers and cancer treatment", and more. However, there was often little, if any, evidence to back up the claims. Most had not been tested for safety and efficacy on humans. Medsafe could not seize peptides at the border, if they were not classed as prescription medicine. Instead, it released the products to the purchasers with a "high-risk medicine letter". "This is posing a risk to health, as the product's quality, efficacy and interactions with other medicines is unknown," the submission said. Because new peptide substances were created all the time, Medsafe asked the committee to class whole groups of them as prescription medicines, so future versions that fell within the group would still be covered. Many websites that sold peptides claimed to sell them "for research purposes", but customers intended to use them therapeutically, the submission said. Fifty-six parcels were intercepted at the border in the year to May, containing peptides or prescription medications known as selective androgen receptor modulators (SARMS). Customs said it couldn't say how many got through without interception. Medsafe said the classification review would take into consideration the safety and appropriateness of being able to import these products, as well the risks of limiting access. The committee considered the submission at a meeting on Wednesday and its decision has not been made public yet. The final decision on medicine classification changes will be made by the Minister of Health at the committee's recommendation. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.

1News
10 hours ago
- 1News
YouTube threatens to sue Aus govt if roped into social media ban
Google has been warned its threats to sue won't sway the potential late inclusion of YouTube in Australia's world-first social media ban for children. The tech giant wrote to Communications Minister Anika Wells declaring it was considering its legal position if its video sharing platform was included in the ban for children 16 and under. The letter, first reported by the Daily Telegraph, flagged the ban could be challenged on the grounds it restricts the implied constitutional freedom of political communication. Signals the Australian government was contemplating an "abrupt policy reversal" prompted Google to seek further clarity. "YouTube is a video sharing platform, not a social media service, that offers benefit and value to younger Australians," a YouTube spokesperson said. ADVERTISEMENT "We have written directly to the government, urging them to uphold the integrity of the legislative process and protect the age-appropriate experiences and safeguards we provide for young Australians." The social media ban is due to come into effect in December. Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Snapchat were among platforms covered when legislation passed parliament. YouTube was exempted, in a move TikTok described as a "sweetheart deal". "The government was firm in its decision that YouTube would be excluded because it is different and because of its value to younger Australians," a YouTube spokesperson told AAP. "This intention was repeatedly made clear in its public statements, including to the Australian parliament." But e-Safety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant has recommended a rethink, citing research showing children were exposed to harmful content on YouTube more than any other platform. ADVERTISEMENT "The new law will only restrict children under the age of 16 from having their own accounts — not accessing content on YouTube or any other service through links from the school or in a 'logged-out' state," she told the National Press Club in June. "There is nothing in the legislation that prevents educators with their own accounts from continuing to incorporate school-approved educational content on YouTube or any other service just as they do now." Prime Minister Anthony Albanese took a dim view of Google's attempt to muscle in on the decision-making process. "The minister will make these assessments... independent of any these threats that are made by the social media companies," he told ABC TV on Sunday. "I say to them that social media has a social responsibility. "There is no doubt that young people are being impacted adversely in their mental health by some of the engagement with social media and that is why the government has acted." The early findings of an age-verification trial found technologies could block young kids from social media platforms, but not without loopholes. ADVERTISEMENT Platforms will face penalties worth up to AUS$50 million (NZ$54.5 million) if caught not taking reasonable steps to prevent children 16 and under from creating accounts.

RNZ News
12 hours ago
- RNZ News
Emergency services responding to helicopter crash in Bay of Plenty
Photo: 123RF Emergency services are at the scene of a helicopter incident in Bay of Plenty. St John said it was notified of an aviation incident in Matatā at about 3.15pm Sunday. Two ambulances, two rapid response units, two helicopters and one manager attended the scene, although St John was yet to confirm the status of the patients. St John crews remain on scene, with one fire service appliance assisting. Fire and Emergency said nobody was trapped during the incident. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.